Many types of small arms ammunition include a cartridge that includes a cartridge case that houses a primer, powder, and a projectile often called a bullet. Various dimensions and aspects of a cartridge case can affect how a bullet behaves when it comes out of a gun. Thus, for consistency for accurately hitting a target as well as safety for a shooter it can be quite important that the dimensions and other aspects of a cartridge case be substantially uniform and/or meet precise cartridge case requirements.
Traditional cartridge case manufacturing methods include putting a plurality of cartridge cases through a cartridge processing step at the same time. For example, two or more cartridges may be pressed and/or heated at the same time. This may lead to difficult control of the specific treatment of a specific cartridge. For example, variables in a single cartridge may affect how another cartridge is processed. One cartridge case may be harder, softer, warmer, cooler, or have different dimensions than another cartridge case. By processing them at the same time the variations between the cartridge cases may not be accounted for and one or both of the cartridge cases may be improperly treated and may result in errors that require a rejection of the cartridge cases. Additionally, mechanisms that heat or press two different parts at the same time often do not treat the parts exactly the same. For example, the temperature of an oven may not be completely uniform and may result in one cartridge case being heated to a different temperature than another cartridge case.
Other variations in the ambient environment and/or in a press or machine may also cause variations with how cartridge cases are processed. For example, warmer temperatures may result in a press or other device to slightly change dimensions and thus create a cartridge case having different dimensions. Thus, a cartridge case processed by a machine (e.g. stamper, press, device) that has not yet achieved a desired operating temperature may not meet desired cartridge case specifications. In some instances, large numbers of cases may be processed with the expectation of treating them as scrap until a machine, press, or device has reached a desired operating condition (i.e. a device has achieved the proper temperature).
Additionally, traditional cartridge case manufacturing methods often include processing a cartridge case in a press which then ejects the cartridge case into a bin. The cartridge cases in the bin may then be placed on a conveyor to a next press or may be carted by a worker off to another press or process step. Thus, at the next press the cartridge case orientation must be adjusted or oriented according to the requirements for the next process. This can add unwanted time, expense, and/or complexity to the process because a cartridge case must be repeatedly reoriented. Additionally, spitting cartridges out into bins may result in damage to cartridge casings which may result in the creation of more scrap materials and monetary loses.
Further, traditional cartridge case forming methods often include unpredictable time periods between method or process steps. For example, a certain step in a conventional process may create a bottleneck in the system, thus cartridge cases may have to sit in waiting for minutes, hours, days, or even weeks before moving to the next process step. These variations can lead to wide ranges of different operating temperatures and or other aspects. In one embodiment, lube that is placed on a cartridge case for a process step may, over time, attract dirt, loose viscosity, lose lube properties, and/or harden. These variations can significantly affect how a cartridge case responds to forming steps such as press, stamp, punch, or taper forming steps.